The government has commissioned the Swedish National Board of Trade to “map the increase in exports to Russia’s neighborhood”. This is because the government suspects that the economic sanctions that Sweden has imposed on Russia are not being complied with in practice.
– If the sanctions are to be effective and contribute to weakening Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they must be enforced. The increase in exports to Russia’s neighborhood may have natural causes, but it may also be due to a lack of full compliance with the sanctions. This survey will give us a better picture of the situation so that we can consider possible measures, says Johan Forssell, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade.
In a press release, the center-right government boasts that “Sweden is a driving force in the EU circle for the continuous adoption of further sanctions against Russia” and points out that this is a high priority issue.
“The government continues to work on closing loopholes and ensuring that the sanctions are implemented in a uniform and effective manner. In order to be able to assess how the sanctions are being complied with, a thorough analysis of how Sweden’s trade patterns have changed in line with the increasingly comprehensive sanctions against Russia and Belarus is required”, it continues.
Therefore, the Swedish National Board of Trade has now been commissioned to “analyze the development of foreign trade and changes in trade patterns”.
“The purpose of the survey is to provide the government with in-depth knowledge of how trade patterns have changed and how these changes relate to the sanctions. The study must be completed in the near future so that any measures can be taken quickly”, the report concludes.
Facts: National Board of Trade
The National Board of Trade (Kommerskollegium) is Sweden's authority for foreign trade, the EU internal market and trade policy. Its main task, according to its own statement, is to promote opportunities for international trade and free trade in various ways.
